Max Verstappen snatches victory in dramatic Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

World champion Max Verstappen won a thrilling Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for Red Bull on Sunday and scored his first points of the season.

Forty-eight hours after a nearby missile strike threatened to cancel the second round of the new Formula One season, Verstappen claimed the first victory of his title defence following a thrilling battle with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc which went to the wire.

Verstappen crossed the line only half-a-second ahead of Leclerc, with Carlos Sainz third and pole-sitter Sergio Perez fourth.

George Russell finished fifth for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton only 10th on an evening to forget for the seven-time world champion.

Hamilton, who started only 15th following one of the worst qualifying performances of his career, made good progress through the field to move up to 10th by the start of lap 14, and then seventh when Mercedes kept him out on old rubber following Nicholas Latifi’s lap-17 crash and the first safety car. That became sixth when he made his way ahead of Kevin Magnussen.

Mercedes were banking on further drama to afford Hamilton a free pit stop.

But, when the virtual safety car arrived with 14 laps to run, Hamilton was denied a stop for fresh tyres, with Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo stuttering to a halt on the entry to the pit lane.

When the virtual safety car period ended on lap 41 and the pit lane reopened, Hamilton was allowed to stop, but he fell back six places to 12th before passing Alexander Albon and then Lance Stroll to take the final point.

Up front, Leclerc and Verstappen were involved in a tantalising battle for victory for the second time in a week.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc on the podium after his second place. Reuters

On lap 42, Verstappen fought his way past